Celestial Melody
by invisiblereiko
Summary: When a certain celestial wizard leaves her family, she becomes stronger. She tried to forget the love of her life, but when she chanced upon him one day... she found herself falling in love again.
1. Chapter 1 - Reminiscence

Celestial Melody

Author – Reiko

"_It's the music. I'm sure of it. It is the one which had caught the celestial spirit wizard's soul."_

_Chapter 1 – Reminiscence _

"I've never heard silence quite this loud," Lucy whispered to her 19 year old self as she walked back to her house which was in the middle of the forest. She didn't summon Plue anymore. Lucy had grown up and was much stronger of a celestial wizard. The girl could summon four spirits simultaneously without a large depletion of her magic and fight along with the whip which was yet upgraded once more by Virgo, the maiden spirit. Through the two years of training by herself outside of Magnolia, Lucy had forced her heart to reject any emotions and she didn't allow any old feelings to go back to her. It was selfish of her, that day, when she left the guild though…

_**Flashback [X784]**_

"_I'm leaving the god damn guild. I can't do this anymore. Everyone is stronger than me and I can never match up to their level if I keep hiding behind them," Lucy said with resolution but her voice betrayed all the emotions she had. For days, Lucy had avoided the guild and stayed at home, ashamed. However, the girl just couldn't muster up enough courage to get her guild mark erase and leave it. It was her family, one which truly loved her for who she is and never judged her. Fairy Tail protected her for as long as she could remember despite the troubles she brought with her wherever she went. And… Natsu. Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer. Every inch of him was intoxicating and Lucy didn't want to leave him. Even though they had only met for almost a year, Lucy's heart couldn't push away the love that developed gradually. Natsu had captivated her with everything he did, every move he made but she couldn't admit it to him despite the numerous time he pestered her on what went wrong. "Damn you Natsu, what did you do to me," Lucy whispered, putting her head on the wooden desk in her rented apartment._

"_Luce!" a loud voice came from the window. Lucy didn't even have to look up to know who it was. It was Natsu, the boy who had her heart swell up in happiness every time he smiled. However, the blonde forced her eyes to meet the fire wizard and the flying blue cat beside him. "Hey," she tried to smile but it was redundant. They could clearly see the sadness in her eyes. "You didn't come to Fairy Tail for four days, Lucy. What happened?" Natsu went in and sat on the bed, watching the celestial spirit wizard. "Aye. We've missed you," Happy added and sounded serious for once. "I... Natsu... Am I not good enough for Fairy Tail?" she stood up shakily and walked over, standing over the sitting boy. Lucy's hands were shaking and she hated herself so much for not being able to even say that sentence properly. Under other circumstances, she would've been delighted to see the fire wizard but just then, she couldn't. Her heart was under too much emotional trauma. "You are always good enough for Fairy Tail Luce, why do you ask?" Natsu's voice was filled with concern and he looked up. "N…Nothing," Luce shook her head and turned around so she could hide the tears that was falling._

"_Lucy?" Natsu asked softly again and stood up as well, going closer to the blonde. "Don't… Just don't," she whispered but it was barely audible and Natsu nodded but she couldn't see it. Happy had flown out, deciding to give the two some space. "Please… go home Natsu. I need time alone," Lucy said, her voice quivering. "Okay. I will. But if there is anything I can do to help with your current situation, tell me.I'll be at home, waiting Lucy. Always waiting for you," Natsu bit his lower lip and left the house via the window once more. Happy carried him away and back to their house, just like he promised. _

_But she never went. Lucy had gone to the guild right after Natsu left her house to request to leave the guild. "Master, I want to leave the guild," Lucy said, her right hand clenched tightly as she approached the Master. "Why?" was the only response Makarov had to the girl whom he saw great potential in. "You will know soon Master. Please…" she had to almost beg. Makarov sighed and nodded, walking to hold the girl's right hand, making her unclench her fist. "Lucy, the doors are always wide open for you to come back," Makarov told Lucy after he removed her guild mark which faded slowly. "Thank… Thank you," Lucy whispered and left the guild, not even glancing back. The sun set quietly down the horizon, and the day ended. Such as the day Lucy stopped being a part of the Fairy Tail family._

"What's a wizard walking here on her own?" a deep voice came from behind Lucy, snapping her out of her reverie of her past. Lucy whirled around quickly, her cloak brushing against the dried autumn leaves but he was faster. He appeared behind her and whispered in her ear, "Shouldn't you be home? Hmm?" Lucy made a quick motion with her hand and grabbed his wrist, not letting him escape anymore. She turned around, facing the guy with her hood still hiding half of her face. "Don't tell me what to do," she warned him, her voice pitched dangerously low.

A grin could be seen on his face in the dark which infuriated Lucy even more. "Let's make a bet, Miss Wizard. If I win, you reveal yourself to me… and if you win—" he started saying but was cut off suddenly with a swipe of her hand. "If I win, you get lost and leave me alone," she said quietly. The man nodded and Lucy released his wrist, letting him go. Moving back several steps, she whispered, "Come at me with everything you got."

"Oh I definitely will."

_- To Be Continued –_

/ Reiko's note – Hello! It's my first Fairy Tail fanfiction so I hope you guys will give it loads of support! Please leave a comment whether of compliment or critic. I want to know my mistakes too :] This will be a NaLu story, don't worry! Also, favourite and do the awesome stuff^^ Thanks! *virtual hug* /

**DISCLAIMER - **I do not own any of the characters, settings, powers etc. They all belong to the original artist and writer. I only own the story line :)


	2. Chapter 2 - Stronger

Celestial Melody

Author: Reiko

_Chapter 2 – Stronger_

Silence fell in between the two wizards and an eerie atmosphere was developed in the air. _1…2…_ Lucy counted mentally. She had promised herself that if the opponent doesn't attack on three, she would attack first. Lucy was almost to three when a soft smile touched his face and his right hand lit up with white aura. The girl immediately ran through the different type of magic she had encountered that involved white… but she couldn't pin point it. The magic was different but familiar and Lucy's hand went to the pouch on her right, grabbing a key that weighed perfectly in her hand. "Fist of the White Dragon!" the man shouted and he dashed forward, determined to hit the girl and perhaps, spare her life. Lucy didn't even blink and jumped up high, dodging his attack easily. He ran right through where she was standing and crashed into the tree behind Lucy, white exploding all over. "Damn," the guy muttered and rubbed his knuckles. Lucy turned to face the guy, but she hasn't summoned her spirits yet.

"You're fast, so I suppose I can go all out on you?" the male wizard grinned again, one that infuriated Lucy more and more. "Didn't I just tell you a minute ago that you can?" Lucy kept her voice neutral, not letting it betray her heart. The man seemed to contemplate it and shifted his weight. He seemed to sucking in something and it was very obvious what he was going to do next. "Roar of the White Dragon!" he shouted and pure white power came out of his mouth, as a dragon roar. "Gate of the Ram, I open thee; Aries!" she held the key up high and a golden light appeared above it. In a matter of a second, the sheep-like spirit appeared in her usual cotton outfit. The spirit knew what her master wanted and she held out both hands, but shy-like, and said, "Wool Wall!" The white magic dissipated inside the pink-coloured cloud of wool, as if it never existed. "No one has managed to nullify that magic before," the man said, rubbing the back of his neck.

In that moment when he wasn't ready, Lucy lashed out her whip at him and it circled around his ankles. Lucy gave hard tug and he only had time to contort his face to a surprised look before falling down, face smacked to the autumn soil. Lucy wasn't done yet. She brought her whip back, and hit him again, on the arm and the back when he was still down. However, it seemed like he didn't even feel it and it enraged Lucy. "Gate of the Bull, I open thee; Taurus!" she held up another key and similarly, it glowed and Taurus appeared, his axe ready in hand. "Gate of the Scorpion, I open thee; Scorpio!" and right beside him came a man-scorpion who had a gun like thing at the place where his stinger should've been. The man was getting up and he held his right hand limply, as if in pain but Lucy could tell clearly on his face that he wasn't really injured. He was a dragon slayer after all. "Taurus, use Scorpio's sand!" Lucy ordered and the once perverted bull nodded, getting ready. "Go… Taurus! We!" Scorpio got into his stance and sand came out of his 'stinger'. Taurus's axe absorbed the sand and he shouted, "Absorb! Sandstorm Axe! Aldebaran!" The attack was immense, and it hit the man straight, to his body. Through the sand, Lucy could see that he had flown back several more feet and a slight smile tugged on her lips.

"Thank you Aries, Taurus and Scorpio. You may go back now," Lucy whispered, waving their keys gently in the air and they disappeared in a beautiful shimmering light. "You're stronger," the man said, and under the moonlight, his hair was seen to be blonde. "What do you mean I'm stronger? You've met me before?" Lucy asked, her guard going up automatically. "I've heard of you," he corrected her and stood up slowly, shaking his head to clear his senses. "If I could, I would have annihilated you now. But I have received orders not to do things recklessly. However, I give this fight to you. You have potential," he said and turned around, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"Wait," Lucy's voice made him stop in his tracks. "Who are you?" she asked. Lucy did not feel triumphant. In fact, she felt even more anger. She didn't like people who requested a fight and gave up halfway and as far as she could keep track, there were many of those on her list. The man turned around upon her question and looked at her, and if looks could kill, the celestial spirit user would have disappeared into dust. "I'm from Sabertooth, one of the strongest guilds in Fiore. I'm Sting," Sting gave Lucy a half crooked smile and turned around again, leaving the forest. Lucy sighed softly and turned the other direction, making her way to the house which was even further down…

Reaching home, Lucy lit the oil lamp and it in turn casted a soft glow of light in her tiny home which consisted of very little things. It was just enough for Lucy to have a roof over her head and she wondered why previously, did she fought so hard to earn rent for her old apartment. However, those memories were precious. Lucy took off her cloak and hung it on a nail in the door, before taking off her belt which held her keys and whip, laying it on her bed. Through the two years she was alone, Lucy had acquired two more zodiac keys. Pisces and Libra, from a celestial wizard she defeated. The two years of training had not only made her stronger, but ruthless, emotionless and fearless as well. Lucy did not go to the dark side, but if she were to fight against people like Gray or some other strong mage, she was confident she would be victorious.

Sitting down on her bed, Lucy ran her hand over all twelve keys, pausing at each to remember the incident to let her acquire the other nine. Most of them… were with Natsu Dragneel. "Stop it, don't think of him. Idiot," Lucy said to herself out loud but her voice betrayed her thoughts. It was quivering and the emotionless Lucy felt a hot stinging behind her eyes. She refused to let them fall. If she did, it was a sign of weakness and she couldn't and shouldn't be weak. "I promised myself… to forget you. But I can't," the girl took out a crumpled piece of photo. It had been in her pocket every single day, and Lucy protected it with her life. It was a picture of Team Natsu, smiling happily. "And look at me now…" she whispered, her thumb running gently over the picture of Natsu and his boyish grin.

Fairy Tail [ That Same Night ]

"Natsu!" the guild doors banged open and in came the White Dragon Slayer, Sting. Every single one of them was there conveniently and they all halted in the middle of their activities, silence enveloping the guild. "What do you want, Sting?" Gray, the ice mage, spoke up first, his voice hard as steel. Sting chose to ignore what Gray asked and walked straight to the pink-haired mage who was sprawled across the wooden bar, an empty glass of beer in his hand. "Dragneel," Sting said once more and held Natsu by the collar, his face inches from the latter. Natsu was different than when he saw him two years ago. But he couldn't care less. "Listen up, I found Lucy Heartfillia," he hissed in the Fire Dragon Slayer's face. Immediately, Natsu's drunken state sobered up and his eyes opened. "Are you serious?" he asked, his voice full of disbelief. Sting released him but Natsu stood by himself perfectly, his arms crossed. "Yes I am serious. I just fought with her in fact," Sting said, pointing at the bruises on his body. "Now that you mention it… you are pretty seriously injured," Gajeel walked over, his face in a permanent scowl. "But Lucy wouldn't have the power to land you up in this state. You're lying," a female voice travelled forward. Erza. "He's not," Natsu said quietly and the rest of the guild strained to listen to what the boy was saying.

"I said, he's not lying!" Natsu said in a louder voice, making sure that it reverberated throughout the guild. "I smell her on him," Natsu sniffed slightly and nodded. "Definitely Lucy," he confirmed. "So what, Flame head? If Lucy wants to meet us, she would come straight to the guild," Gray retorted, angry. His heart felt like it was bursting. Lucy was one of his best female friends and whenever he was in a depressed mood; her smile would cheer him up but since she left… those moments weren't ever happening again. The rest of the guild was never the same again. The usual, "Good morning!" was gone as well. "I'm going to find her, ice princess," Natsu said with a grin on his face. "AYE!" Happy's voice suddenly appeared. "Yeah right, and we'll totally let you go alone," Gray said, making up his mind. "Totally," Erza chimed in and Wendy winked as well.

"Whatever. Let's go!" Natsu said cheerfully and started walking out of the guild. It was a first in two years since he had been that way. When Lucy left, and he heard of the news, he would spend five solid days looking for her all over Fiore and when it didn't work, he wanted to carry on but Master stopped him. Master told him it was futile and dragged him back to the guild. Ever since then, he had simply gone to drink and left, repeating the vicious cycle each day. No one could cheer him up or console him and whenever he was confronted, he would wave the person away, murmuring something like, "I only want Lucy…" Happy couldn't do anything as well and for jobs, it was just Team Natsu without Natsu. Erza, Gray and Wendy had tried their best to get over Lucy's departure and lived their life as it is but apparently, Lucy weighed a lot In Natsu's heart. He just couldn't get over her.

"I'll definitely get her back," he said resolutely with a finally smiling Happy flying behind him.

_To Be Continued _

/ A/N – Hi! I know the fighting part wasn't good between Sting and Lucy but that's because I ain't accustomed to writing fights or battles. But I tried! In case you were wondering why Sting was so weak, and Aries was so strong, it is because Sting hasn't gotten his full power yet and all the spirits had became stronger as well alongside Lucy. Anyways hope you liked this chapter and I'll post the next one up probably tomorrow! There will be a one-shot NaLu story on First of July (Lucy's Birthday), so be sure to check it out! Leave a review of critic or compliment as you please :] Please spread this story to your friends if you liked it! /

**DISCLAIMER – **I do not own any characters, settings or magical powers ideas. All the credit is to the original writer and artist. (However I would be much honored to do so :P) I own only the storyline and some other imaginary stuff I made up :D


	3. Chapter 3 - Masquerade

Celestial Melody

Author – Reiko

_Chapter 3 – Masquerade_

Lucy was just turning off her lamp and going to sleep when she heard a soft rustle of leaves from the distant, around a hundred feet away. Her house was deep in the forest and reaching there without getting lost was almost impossible, unless you had a nose that was of a Dragon. "Wait… dragon?" Lucy whispered under her breath and threw the covers up, sliding out from her bed with a quick movement. Lucy immediately buckled her belt on the waist band of her skirt and her whip, securing it onto the belt. She dragged on her coat and put the hood up, silently opening the door of her house, managing to open it without it making too much noise. Once the celestial spirit wizard was out of the house, she started running. After two years of training, Lucy's legs were taking her faster than ever toward the North, where it went deeper into the woods. Lucy panted slightly, but her stamina had increased over the two years and the girl wouldn't tire out easily. She ran and ran, till the forest parted a little and as nimble as a squirrel, the blonde scaled the tallest tree she could.

Lucy tried to keep her pants soft, pressing a hand to her chest only to feel her heart beating fast. "Damn it," Lucy whispered as she crouched on one of the branch, looking downward, her hands clammy. A sudden and familiar voice made her hair rise and she struggled to jump down and run toward it, into the arms of her friends. "I smelt her Gray, I really did," a male's voice came from 50 feet away. "But it trailed off?" another familiar voice came, this time female. _Erza,_ Lucy thought, a smile slowly forming on her lips. "I smelt her too, Natsu-san. You aren't the only one," a cute kid voice travelled to her ears and Lucy knew it was Wendy, a girl whom she treated like her little sister. As she felt them coming closer to her hiding place, Lucy heard Natsu's breath hitch. "She's near again. Her scent stronger than ever," Natsu's eyes travelled around the place, hope evident in his voice. "LUCY! WE KNOW YOU'RE HERE! SO COME ON OUT!" Gray cupped both his hands around his mouth and shouted. It was loud enough for the owls to fly away and all that left there was Lucy. Alone and hiding. _I cannot go and face them. If I do…_ Lucy thought to herself, her cold heart slowly thawing.

Her first instinct was to leap to another tree, but they would see and Erza's sword would pierce through her clothing in a second's time. However, she couldn't stay there because they had already tracked her scent and at any moment, she would get caught. The blonde wizard bit her lower lip, so hard that it bled slightly, trying to contemplate on what action to take next. _Spirits_, Lucy heard her own voice in her mind and she knew it was only chance. While they were distracted, she would move. She would run away and maybe hide somewhere else where it was safer. Reaching her right hand to her pouch, she took Virgo's key and looked at it, praying that it would work. "Gate of the maiden, I open thee; Virgo!" Lucy whispered and light shone again from the tip of her key, alerting her former guild mates of where she was. "LUCY!" Natsu's loud voice could be heard from the distance, frantic, but she turned away. "Help me stall them," she told Virgo, who was staring at her creepily. Virgo nodded and jumped down, drilling her way under and making holes under each wizard.

Lucy had her chance and she jumped from tree to tree, using her arm strength to swing fast, breathing even heavier. Eventually, she lost track of how long she had went for but she continued, her feelings spurring her along. Lucy saw the town of Fiore in the distance and she decided to go there, to blend in with the commoners and try to hide. A busy place was definitely more difficult to track and with a firm nod, Lucy walked there with her hood dragged down even lower. She didn't want anyone, anyone at all to notice her. The blond hair was something difficult to hide though, but it was manageable and besides, with her improved powers, Lucy could fight who ever who stood in her way. Regardless of who it was.

A month later | Hikaru's Palace |

"Send all the guilds and solo wizards out there a message. Tell them all of them are invited to the ball next week, held here. I want _all_ of them here," Lady Hikaru told one of her subordinates, giving clear instructions. "Yes, my Lady," he nodded and bowed respectfully at the princess before leaving to make preparations. "Once they're here, my plan will work perfectly, won't it?" she traced a finger around the rim of her tea cup and warm hands wrapped around her slim waist. "Yes it will," his lips were grazing on her collar bone and she shuddered slightly. "And we'll rule Magnolia, to eventually the world," she whispered with a soft and deceiving smile on her face. "Yes Hikaru," the man said and his hands went lower, to rub her thighs. "Come, Lord Adrian, pleasure me," she turned around to face Adrian, a handsome man with dark brown hair and purple-blue eyes. "I will, Lady Hikaru," he whispered and their lips met.

One week after | Grand Ball Room – Hikaru's Palace |

Something about the letter made Lucy go, despite the fact that she knew she might have a chance of chancing upon Natsu Dragneel and his team. "Why am I even doing this?" she muttered to herself as she faced the mirror of her newly rented flat. She was wearing a strapless baby pink dress, that had an intricate lacy pattern on the top of it and the dress fell just slightly below her heels, covering her legs. Lucy had asked Cancer to create a hairstyle for her and it ended up as a high pony tail, secured with a ribbon that was pink and blue in color. Her fringe was the same together with the lose strands of hair by both sides of her face. Lucy admitted she looked pretty good and picked up the mask that she had bought for 10,000 jewels. It was the color of night, made with a soft velvet material and the designs on it were simply magnificent. It had drawn Lucy to buy it and she did so, figuring that it would be good for the ball that was coming up for all wizards in Fiore. Lucy put on the mask, and her belt which held her usual items to complete the look.

She felt exposed with her bare shoulders and but fortunately she was wearing long white gloves which served as some form of protection. Lucy had sprayed on some berry scented perfume to hide her scent and prayed fervently that Natsu wouldn't detect her if he went. Lucy walked quickly to the place, eyes widening at the palace which was as big as her mansion previously. Above the door, a magic lacrima read – _Welcome to the Hirashi's Residence, wizards of Fiore! _Lucy stared for a while before entering the place, her heels clicking against the marble flooring. "Wow," she whispered, as her eyes travelled all over the place.

Most of the place was made of marble, but the golden lights made it seem like it was made of pure gold itself. The place was flourished with decorations a commoner could hardly dare to speak of and the tables, the curtains, anything that was there had probably cost as much as any of the furniture in Lucy's old house. She felt a wave of nostalgia but she tried to push it back, going toward the cocktail table. Picking one up, Lucy placed it to her lips and the taste that came with it was amazing. The sweetness of the drink slid down her throat and she felt more refreshed than she had in many months. "Pretty good drink huh?" a voice came from behind her and Lucy stiffened slightly.

She knew who it was. Turning around, Lucy was eternally grateful for the mask that hid her face as she stared up at the dark haired wizard. A smile slowly formed on his lips and he held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you. I am Gray Fullbuster."

_To be continued_

/ Reiko's Note - Hello! As promised, the third chapter of celestial melody! I hope you like this chapter because I had a minor writer's block whilst writing it :3 Anyways, do review and tell me what you think! I'll be back with a new chapter and NaLu one shot tomorrow if I can! Stay tune! /

**DISCLAIMER - **I own none of the characters, the settings and powers because they all belong to the original artist :) If I could own them, I would be very honored to do so. I only own the story line!


	4. Chapter 4 - Beautiful Eyes

_Celestial Melody_

"_You have beautiful eyes, miss."_

Chapter 4 – Beautiful eyes

Gray needn't introduce himself to her and she would know that it was him. It was either the aura that he carried, or the mysterious charm that fixed itself onto his soul. Lucy swallowed down the bile that threatened to rise up and forced a smile on her face, shaking his hand, "It's a pleasured to be of your acquaintance, Mr. Fullbuster. I don't think I'm obliged to speak of my name without knowing you more first." Lucy's voice, despite her fear and nervousness, sounded normal and she spoke with manners, like a proper noble lady.

A soft and deep chuckle came from Gray, "I believe you're right, miss. So, why not, we have a dance?" Gray tried his best to speak properly to the noble women in front of him but he found it terribly difficult. Holding her hand gracefully, he brought onto one of the platforms which would levitate as they danced. Gray found something familiar about the girl but he didn't think much and when the soft classical music started playing, they started moving to the beat. Gray's hand rested lightly on Lucy's waist and his other hand was clasped with her, moving back and forth.

Lucy didn't make eye contact with him throughout the four-minute dance because she was busy looking all around the ball room, noticing that there were around ten Fairy Tail members present, inclusive of Gray: Gajeel, Levy, Wendy, Romeo, Cana, Wakaba, Macao, Erza... and Natsu. Lucy saw the pink-haired mage last, after Erza, and her heart almost stopped. In a tuxedo, Natsu looked dazzling and the grin on his face never faltered once upon the sight of food. _So he has forgotten me, huh,_ Lucy thought sadly and upon it, she stepped on Gray's shoes with her heels. Gray yelped and his grip on her waist tightened slightly. Lucy's eyes widened and she looked at Gray apologetically, "I'm so sorry Gra… I mean, Mr. Fullbuster. I was a little unfocused." Gray waved it off with his hand and shrugged, "I've suffered more than this. I know who you were looking at. You were looking at one of the strongest wizard in our guild. Natsu Dragneel. He is rather popular so I am unsurprised that he caught your attention."

Then it was Lucy's turn to shrug and as the song ended, she stepped off the platform gently, smiling a little at Gray, "Thank you for the dance Mr. Fullbuster. Now if you will excuse me…" she turned around and walked off, unaware that he was staring at the belt around her slender waist. It was very familiar but somehow, it seemed like Gray couldn't put his finger on it and he simply turned, walking back to Natsu. Even though Natsu had a façade of a happy person, he was secretly hoping that Lucy would attend the ball and he would get to see her but he couldn't track her scent yet. "Natsu," Gray called out as he took a small piece of pastry and ate it in one go. "So did you dance yet?" Natsu asked Gray, not really looking at the other male.

"Yes I did, it was with a noble lady, I can tell by the way she spoke," Gray nodded, munching quietly. "And you didn't ask for her name?" Erza walked over, her lavender dress sweeping across the marble floors. "She said that she would like to know me better," Gray answered simply but in his mind, was two things. The soft chocolate brown eyes that she carried and the belt that was around her waist. They had already imprinted themselves in his memory and Gray could've sworn he saw those eyes before…

| An Hour Later |

Lucy had been wandering around the area and dancing with two more men but they were not from Fairy Tail, which was a relief. She wondered what the Princess who had invited them there wanted and if she weren't going to make her appearance soon, she would leave because each minute there increases a minute of chance that Fairy Tail would notice her. Fortunately, she knew how to conceal her identity with noble speaking and everyone thought that Lucy Heartfillia had put the past life of hers behind. Sighing, Lucy ran her hand along her whip, thinking of her first whip she acquired, which wasn't much of use since it didn't have magical properties like here current one.

Lucy continued walking, her mind drifting slightly back to her days with Fairy Tail. "What's wrong with me?" Lucy shook her head and cleared her mind. Just then, the music stopped and it caught everyone's attention.

"Wizards of Fiore, I would like to thank you for attending this event today. I am very honoured to be able to host this ball today and I am glad that everyone made it," a voice from the second level of the palace came to each of the wizard's ears. Lucy's eyes moved to the place where the sound was coming from and her breath hitched. The Princess standing there had a very unique look, and already, men were drooling from the beauty the Princess had. Princess Hikaru had raven black hair and it hung low, to her hips. Her eyes were faded blue, like the sky and her face was gorgeous. So beautiful that it was difficult to describe in words. The dress she wore looked like it was entirely made of silk, the exquisite designs standing out, capturing everyone's eyes. A small smile appeared and she looked even better than ever. "Now, I would like each of you to get into pairs and we will have a mini dance competition," she spoke, her voice twinkling. Lucy bit her lower lip as she watched everyone obey, including the reckless Fairy Tail members.

Gajeel automatically went with Levy, Romeo with Wendy, Cana, Erza, Wakaba and Macao with some random other guild members. Gray looked around and eventually he went to a girl who had dark blue hair, who looked like Juvia but not. Natsu stood there, also looking around for a partner and a scowl appeared on his face when he found that most of the girls were already in the hands of other men and they were already on the platforms. Suddenly, a flash of blonde caught his eyes and Natsu focused, seeing a girl with black velvet mask looking as lost as him. _Lucy…_ the first thought came to his mind but he knew it couldn't be her. However, he had no choice and he walked over to the girl, "Um… miss?"

Lucy whirled around to the voice behind her and a gasp left her lips. It was barely audible and it seemed like all the air was knocked out of her. She blinked once, then twice before finding her voice, "Yes…?" Standing in front of her was the man she once loved, and… perhaps still do. "Do you want to be my partner?" Natsu asked plainly, his voice carrying no emotion but Lucy was contented. With just listening to his gruff voice, her heart felt like it was bursting and eventually, she nodded. "Are you okay?" he asked her, eyebrows furrowing. "I'm…I'm fine thank you sir," Lucy whispered and Natsu took her hand gently.

"C'mon let's go," Natsu said as he saw Princess Hikaru waiting patiently at the second level. He pulled her to one of the platforms and since Wendy had casted Troia on him, he was all right. Lucy got on dizzily but tried to keep her composure and reminded herself that it would be over soon and she could leave. She wouldn't let him find out that it was her…

"Lucy Heartfillia is here isn't she?" Hikaru turned to the shadows and the figure lurking there nodded slightly. "And her powers have increased significantly, so it'll be perfect," Adrian said, stepping out and touching his lips closely to her ear. "Perfect, yes…" Hikaru nodded and she observed the people getting into pairs, stepping up onto the floating platforms. "Alright, it's time to start the competition! Here are the rules," Hikaru stepped away from Adrian and addressed the wizards. "The rules are, I will randomly pick a music that you two can dance to and my judges," she waved the three people sitting on the other end of the second level, "will eliminate ten pairs from each round. The last two will get into the finals and I will tell you more about it later." The lacrima that enabled her voice to project out shut down and Hikaru's face formed into an evil smirk again. "They'll never be able to figure out what I did to those platforms," she whispered. Adrian nodded behind her, but it was unseen.

As the first song started, Natsu held onto the girl's waist lightly, his warm palm heating her up. Lucy resisted a shudder as they danced to it easily, as if they had rehearsed it before. Natsu was noticing something about the girl, about the eyes she had and the way she moved. It felt like he really did rehearse the type of dance before with a certain someone. Someone who had found her way into his heart. Natsu watched as the girl evaded eye contact and with a soft smile in a while, Natsu leaned in and spoke.

"Miss, you have beautiful eyes. Why try to hide 'em?"

/ _To__ Be Continued /_

Reiko's Note – Hello! So super sorry for not updating yesterday! I was really busy with school and such so I didn't find the time to update it but I am now presenting to you chapter 4! I have a minor writer's block for this one so it isn't so great, but nevertheless, I hope you guys liked it :D Thanks for the reviews and follows ^^ I really appreciated them, from the bottom of my heart. Anyways, pleased continue to tell me what you think and it makes my day after a depressing day at school C: Thanks so much! I love you guys :]

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own any of the characters and anything else related to Fairy Tail. It all belongs to the original artist and writer. I only own the storyline in this case (:


	5. Chapter 5 - Magic

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 5 – Magic_

Lucy flushed immediately and her cheeks grew hot. However, instead of being embarrassed about that, she hated it. Lucy didn't want to feel anything more for Natsu, but what he was doing to her that evening was too much to bear, her frozen heart has thawed. "Miss?" Natsu's voice came through, and Lucy snapped out of her thoughts. "Well…I don't like to look at people," Lucy lied lamely. Natsu's eyebrows creased but he did not question the blonde, who seemed extremely jittery.

"Round one is over! I have received the results from the judges and here are those who successfully entered the second round," Princess Hikaru's velvety voice resonated throughout the grand hall. Each platform was numbered and as Lucy prayed that theirs wouldn't be called out and almost had her wish granted. Almost. "Last but not least, platform 45!" Princess Hikaru said cheerfully before turning off her lacrima that acted as the microphone. Lucy sighed heavily and looked downward. "Are you okay, miss?" Natsu asked again, touching her shoulder lightly. He knew he shouldn't be doing these actions with a stranger because his heart had only vacancy for one special girl. However, there was something about the girl he was dancing with that made him a little more open. "I'm fine. Let's just do our best," Lucy smiled at him forcefully. A moment later, the next song was chosen, a faster paced one. The two immediately found a good position to dance in sync, but they never once wondered if something was happening underneath their very feet.

Sweat was dripping from Lucy's forehead onto the mask she was wearing. It had been two hours and their team hadn't been eliminated yet. It was down to five teams and every round was even more difficult than the previous by a notch. "I think you should take out the mask, aren't you uncomfortable?" Natsu asked Lucy, drinking some water. Lucy shook her head, "I'm fine with it. Besides, have you ever seen a noble exposing her face to you before knowing you fully?" Natsu's face immediately fell and the wistful look he had earlier returned but he managed to open his mouth and say, "Yes. I did. Her name was Lucy. Have you heard of the Heartfillias? They were once the richest family in the place and…" The moment the Dragon Slayer mentioned her name and family, Lucy tuned off because she didn't want to be reminded of the past. It was too painful for the mage, for her to even think about her father. He had been so arrogant, so prideful and in the end, he lost everything. Every single thing.

"This is the deciding round, to decide which two pairs are the best and we will have a final competition to crown the winner!" Princess Hikaru said excitedly and motioned for the teams to go onto their respective platforms. Natsu gave Lucy a look: _Shall we?_ Lucy couldn't help but smile a little and nod, walking with him up the platform. The song that was chosen was a remix, which Lucy absolutely despised. Lucy was good at anything except for dancing to remixed songs since it was a surprise. It was something unpredictable and Lucy wasn't one who liked a surprise. Especially in her one other hobby apart from writing novels. "You can do it," Natsu flashed her, his signature grin but Lucy chose to remain silent as the playlist started. They started dancing, doing a couple of difficult moves that Natsu was sure he learnt before somewhere and the girl was doing it exactly right. After four minutes, the remix playlist was over and pants were heard from all five platforms, indicating that it was a challenge.

Claps came from all corners of the hall, including one from Princess Hikaru who watched with amusement. She couldn't believe that the Dragon Slayers present didn't notice anything. But that was good, because it meant that her plan was perpetually flawless. She collected herself because it was time. It was time for her to drop the bomb on them and tell them what they had to do. One last thing before enough Magic was collected. "Well done! Now, I will announce to you the two teams that will be going to challenge each other in the final round. The teams are…" she paused for the dramatic effect. Tension was evident in the air and Princess Hikaru smirked. "The teams are the ones form platform 32 and…45! Please step off from your platforms and my helpers will bring you four people to another bigger and spacious room," Princess Hikaru informed them and switched off her lacrima.

Lucy turned her head to see who her opponents were and struggled to keep in a gasp. It was none other than the White Dragon Slayer she fought against a month back and a girl who had short white hair but Lucy's attention was on the former, not the latter. "Sting, the White Dragon Slayer… and Yukina, the celestial wizard," she heard Natsu mutter under his breath before the 'helpers' of Hikaru came to escort them to the other room. Lucy's eyes never left Sting's figure until he turned his head. He looked at her briefly but that was what gave him the chance to remember who she was. He mouth moved and Lucy saw him utter a word of two syllabuses.

"Lucy."

Lucy was distracted by Sting's reaction. How did he know it was her? How did he know her name? On the other hand, Natsu was walking with both his hands in his pockets, thinking of a certain blonde hair mage. She had the exact same hair colour as the girl he danced and will be dancing with, the same height and body shape but the girl he danced with was too different. The girl he danced with had a colder personality, an introverted one whereas the girl whom he had fell in love with was extroverted and friendly, a total opposite. Somewhere along the line, suddenly, they were separated from Sting's team and were brought to a different room. "We are here," the 'helper' said. Both mages snapped out of their reverie and looked around.

"Where are we?" Natsu asked first, getting suspicious. "And where is the other team?" Natsu added after a second of realisation. "Well..." a soft voice came from behind them and the pair whirled around. "Princess Hikaru?" Lucy asked incredulity evident in her voice. "What are you doing here?" Natsu demanded, his eyes burning. A slow smile appeared on the Princess's face, "You think we'd really go through all this trouble to bring you here for you to just _dance?_" A low chuckle bubbled up from Princess Hikaru. Lucy and Natsu exchanged looks but Lucy stepped forward to ask, "So what do you want exactly?"

"Ah… it's easy. All I want is Magic. And to acquire that, I'm going to play a little game."

[ _To be continued ]_

A/N – Yo! I'm updating this after a day of break or so with a major writer's block so this isn't as good as I wanted it to turn out. My word choices are really bad, I know but I am sure you guys will understand right? And up to here, NaLu isn't so obvious but I will add NaLu moments in Chapter 6 or 7, depending on how much I further develop the storyline. This is all I have to say for now and I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading and if you may, please review! Arigato (: ~

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own any of the characters and such because they all belong to the original creator of Fairy Tail. I only own the storyline, and only that. ^^


	6. Chapter 6 - Protect

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 6 – Protect_

"A game?" Lucy asked, her chocolate brown eyes narrowing. "Did you not hear what I said?" Princess Hikaru scowled at the pair but her face immediately softened back to the innocent one. "You two will fight against one another, and the one who wins will get to fight the one who wins on the other team. However, the magic that you release out will be taken in by our enchanted Lacrimas and you will be weakened. Only when one is down then the other may leave the room," Princess Hikaru said, walking in a circle around them. Lucy's heart started palpitating. She had to fight against Natsu, the legendary Salamander? Even with her new powers, there won't be even a twenty percent chance that she would win the fight. "By the way, you should take off that mask. Shouldn't you?" Princess Hikaru added as she placed her hand on the handle which glowed slightly, reacting to her touch. "See you soon," she waved with her other hand and sashayed out, an evil smile plastered on her flawless face.

The moment the princess left, the door handle disappeared, leaving the pair in an empty room. "Since it has come to this stage, it is time to see how formidable you are," Natsu said, cracking his knuckles as he watched the blonde in front of him. "But I'm fighting with my mask on," Lucy said after a minute of silence as she tried to consolidate her thoughts. She saw Natsu shake his head, disagreeing to her statement. "It will be an unfair fight, so if you may, please take of your mask," he said quietly, his eyes fixing themselves on her face, determine to find out her true identity. Lucy's eyes widen but she remained firm with her decision. "No, I am not going to take off my mask. Only if I lose do I do that," she made a bet with him. Lucy knew that Natsu would win almost immediately but decided to give it her best shot, to prove that she was _strong_. Natsu thought for a moment and nodded, agreeing to the deal. "I'm getting fired up," he grinned, but behind the grin was a strange sense of reluctance. Usually, the boy would jump at any opportunity to see where he stood in the magical level but against the girl, he didn't want to find out at all.

Lucy took out her whip, getting ready to lash it out at Natsu when he got closer because the words the Hikaru said still rang in her ears. Magic would cause her downfall and if she used it to summon spirits, she was pretty sure she would be down before Natsu would. "Fire Dragon's… Fist!" Natsu lit his right hand on fire and came at Lucy, putting his emotions into it. Lucy barely had time to dodge and that sent her flying back, hitting the fall with a sickening crack. Lucy could feel the impact of his fist still on her stomach and she clutched it painfully. However, it didn't seem that he was about to give up because he shouted, "Fire Dragon's… Roar!" Fire came out of his mouth in a large amount and Lucy had only a moment to think before grabbing one of her keys and shouted, "Gate of the Scorpion, I open thee; Scorpio!" He appeared a second before the fire hit her and protected Lucy with his sand wall. Lucy got up shakily and raised her head to meet Natsu's eyes, which seemed to be shaking.

"How…how did you get Lucy's keys? Is she dead?!" he muttered, getting more agitated. Lucy felt incredulous and wanted to defend herself, saying that she _was_ Lucy but remained silent. "She would never give her keys to anyone else unless she is defeated!" Natsu shouted; his eyes blazing, and he advanced upon Scorpio again, breaking through the Sand wall with his fire fist, punching a hole through the Scorpion spirit and hit Lucy square in the jaw. Lucy didn't retaliate though, even when she knew she had the time to do so. She flew back against the wall again and rubbed her chin, squeezing her eyes shut at the pain. "She's not dead," Lucy whispered and stood up again, facing a Natsu who was breathing heavily. However, Natsu didn't hear it and ran toward her, shouting, "Fire Dragon's…Wing Slash!" By right, the fire would've finished her off but when the smoke dissipated, she was standing there, whip in hand. The whip had deflected the fire, taking in its properties and using it as its own. That got Natsu angry again and he ran forward, kicking Lucy on the shin.

Lucy barely had time to lash out when a surge of pain ran through here leg, her bones rattling. But she refused to give up and continued standing, swaying a little. "Fire Dragon's… Roar!" Natsu roared out fire once more and Lucy flicked her wrist, the whip therefore taking in the fire that was aimed at her. Natsu knew she would do that and used the opportunity to attack again. He took hold of her neck when she was distracted and pushed her up against the wall mercilessly, his grip tightening. Lucy's face contorted in anger but she refused to scream, knowing that it would be over soon. "Who are you exactly? Why did you harm Lucy and take her keys?" Natsu yelled in her face, pushing her further back. Lucy wanted to say something else but she couldn't. Her voice was gone as the life started seeping out of her. Natsu raised his other hand and it came to rest upon Lucy's cheek. It wasn't a gentle touch though, it was a rough one and in one quick moment, Natsu ripped the black mask off her face.

Time seemed to stand still as Natsu's breathing got faster. His right hand loosened its grip on Lucy's neck and she slumped to the floor, but still sitting up right. Natsu couldn't and refused to believe his eyes. It was _Lucy,_ the one and only love of his life. Natsu slowly sank to the ground in front of the blonde, who was bruised so much you would think she was abused. "Hey," Lucy looked at Natsu, who was staring at her blankly. Natsu didn't react but continued staring, his mouth struggling to find the words. "Natsu?" Lucy whispered, tears starting to cloud her eyes. Natsu's eyes focused on her when she said his name. It was long since he heard his name from her mouth and that very word snapped him out of his daze. "Lu…lucy," Natsu managed out, his mouth moving to form the familiar word.

At that moment, Lucy didn't give a damn about her heart which she had thought to be cold. She didn't give a damn about the two years of training. She didn't give a damn about anything in the world at all because she was facing Natsu. Facing Natsu with her face revealed, without hiding anymore. Lucy found a sudden burst of energy and wrapped both arms around Natsu's neck, pressing her shaking body closer to him. She hid her face in his scarf and sobbed, repeating his name continuously. Initially, Natsu didn't do anything but slowly, his hands raised and wrapped themselves around her back, pulling her closer. He was disgusted with himself. Natsu had hurt his nakama, his crush and even thought that she was gone. But there she was so close to him. And Natsu broke down. His tears started dripping down his face, onto her bare shoulders and he kept muttering 'Sorry' over and over again.

They huddled together for five minutes before Lucy pulled away, gently and watched Natsu at an arm's length distance. "Are you okay?" was what Natsu asked first, giving her a once over. "I am fine… You've become stronger, Natsu," Lucy smiled softly and took her hands off his shoulders. Natsu shook his head, "What's the point of becoming stronger if I've hurt you like that?" Lucy ran a hand cross her jaws, which hurt like heck. "Nah, I'm used to it," she shrugged and crossed her legs. Natsu was speechless. He really didn't know what to say to Lucy. "I won't forgive myself for this," Natsu scooted closer and touched the bruise on her jaw gently. Instead of stinging, it sent waves of electricity through her instead and she closed her eyes. "Sorry, did I hurt you?" Natsu sounded alarm and jerked his hand away. "No you didn't. It felt… electrified for some reason," Lucy muttered, opening her eyes.

"Huh," Natsu made a sound and fell silent. "C'mon, don't you have any more things to say to me after all these while?" Lucy prompted, nudging him with her shoulder. Natsu turned to look at her, properly, and realised that she didn't change. Her face was still the same, with the exception of her hair which grew longer. "I… I missed you," Natsu murmured, his face heating up a little. A grin spread across Lucy's face, "I bet everyone does." The fact that she didn't admit her feelings right there and then was sort of a miracle. The previous her could've admitted it in a matter of seconds but she wanted to hide her feelings. Or more like, she was unsure of it.

Natsu knew she didn't feel the same the moment she said those words in response to what he said but he didn't give up. He wouldn't let her go again. "I didn't mean it that way though," Natsu whispered. He wrapped his arm around one of her shoulder gently, and brought her closer to him. His mouth went to her ear, and he spoke.

"I miss you in every way possible. I miss your laughter, your anger, your jokes. You. I missed how we always went on missions and you would be the damsel in distress and I would be the prince to save you. I missed your scent, how you sleep and how you cared for all of us. I miss the way you spoke, the way you breathed while you sleep and how you would always order a strawberry milkshake once you enter the guild. I miss you entirely and I don't want to have that feeling ever again."

Upon hearing those words, Lucy found that her cheeks were wet. Tears had escaped from her eyes unwillingly and Lucy felt her heart squeeze. She knew denial wasn't a choice anymore and moved closer to Natsu, placing her head on his shoulders. Four words came out of her mouth and without anyone knowing it, it was an ending and a beginning once more.

"I missed you too."

/ To be continued /

A/N – Hello people! I managed to put in NaLu in this and hoped it was a touching chapter. No, I didn't cry when I wrote it because I was too busy phrasing my sentences properly but if you do cry, please tell me so! I'm not exactly good at typing these type of speeches but yeah, I'm trying XD Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter! I'm getting more and more excited to write this story (: Love ya'll and see you soon!

/ **DISCLAIMER – **I own nothing except for the storyline. Everything else belongs to the original creator, the wonderful man who made Fairy Tail^^ /


	7. Chapter 7 - Lucy vs Hikaru

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 7 – Lucy vs Hikaru_

Somewhere along their chatter, about their lives, Lucy had ended up lying on Natsu's lap and he ran his fingers through her soft blond hair which came loose from the hair tie which held it together. "Ahh… I see that you two have gotten quite friendly with each other," a soft voice came from behind them. The pair sprung apart and Lucy's right hand automatically went to the pouch which held her keys. It was Hikaru, with her face looking as innocent as ever but they knew that behind those eyes was something so scheming no one could've thought of. Lucy chuckled, "It is inevitable. Anyways, we're not going to fight each other just because you tell us to do so."

Hikaru made a clicking sound with her tongue and shook her head, "The thing is… explosive lacrimas had attached themselves on your bodies whilst you were dancing and is currently absorbing your magical energy to increase their power. The only one who controls them is me so you will do as I wish or your life will come to an end." Natsu scowled menacingly at Hikaru, "Such a scheming wrench. We'll defeat you. Don't you worry." Hikaru threw her head back and laughed at the pair, "I'm so strong you won't even lay a finger on me. Want to give it a go?" Hikaru stepped into the room and closed the door, shifting her weight.

"She's mine, Natsu. Stand back and watch quietly. I swear, if you get involved, you'll never hear the end of it," Lucy told Natsu, shooting him a stern look. Natsu wanted to protest but when he saw the determination in her eyes, he agreed reluctantly. Lucy's gaze lingered on him for a whole more before reaching into her pouch and pulling out a key. "Gate of the heavenly scales, I open thee; Libra! Libra, change the gravitational force around Hikaru!" The masked spirit nodded and did as told, the air shifting significantly. "That's no use against me. I am gravity itself!" Hikaru snickered and snapped her fingers. The air returned to normal and she stood up, holding a taunting hand out, speaking with triumphant, "Anymore? Or that's just your only spirit?" That got Lucy angry and she reached for her pouch again. "Don't you look down on Celestial Spirit mages, you wrench!" Lucy shouted and held up two golden keys.

"Gate of the maiden, I open thee; Virgo! Gate of the paired fish; I open thee; Pisces!" Lucy summoned both spirits, focusing all her magic on them. The spirits seemed to know what their owner wanted and a silent agreement went through them. Virgo closed her eyes and crossed her hands over her chest, drilling downward whereas the paired fish spirits rushed at Hikaru, without mercy. Hikaru got serious, and raised both hands, "Gravity Manipulation: Force Field!" The gravity surrounding her compacted together and formed a force field, blocking Pisces's attack. However, Virgo had dug a hole underneath Hikaru, and Hikaru fell, her face in shock. The force field disappeared and Lucy smiled. "Thank you Libra, Virgo and Pisces." They disappeared in a shimmer after she said those words, back to the celestial spirit realm.

Behind her, Natsu watched as Lucy breath heavily. The three gates opened simultaneously were taking its toll on Lucy but she did not seem to be extremely out of magic. Then suddenly, the air moved again and Hikaru jumped up, onto the solid floor. "You think the two puny spirits can beat me? My turn to show you what is magic," Hikaru said confidently and with a hardened look, spread her arms again. "Gravity Manipulation: Multiply!" she shouted and the gravity around her changed, allowing her to float. Lucy however, was stuck on the ground and she couldn't move both her hands to summon a spirit. "Here I come!" Hikaru rushed at Lucy, holding a sword in her hand which materialised out of nowhere. Natsu started panicking but he himself couldn't move and he shouted, "Lucy!" He couldn't lose her again. Once was enough, twice? He thought that he would die.

Lucy turned her head to look at him, mouthing, "Don't worry." And the sword came slashing down at the celestial spirit mage. Natsu kept his eyes closed, not wanting to witness the scene but when he opened them a fraction, what he saw shook him properly. A golden light had surrounded Lucy and her eyes were closed, hands spread out slightly on the sides. Hikaru remained in mid-air, frozen in shock and her sword stopped by the golden light. "H…how is it possible?" she whispered.

Suddenly, Lucy's eyes flew open and her hair did as well, upward. "Celestial Spirit secret art: Thousand Stars!" she said and the light that was on her, shot out in infinite numbers, hitting Hikaru in every spot possible. Hikaru flew back and crashed onto the ground, her head smacking onto the concrete. Lucy let the light slowly disperse and she inhaled deeply. "The magic is triggered by the emotional weakness of the opponent, and it so happens that you, Hikaru, have an immense amount of weakness," Lucy explained, stepping closer to Hikaru who was whimpering in pain on the ground. "You have made a huge mistake in using that magic," Hikaru coughed out. Lucy tilted her head to one side, confused. "I said before… The room is installed such that the magic you use is absorbed and eventually it'll be converted to a large lacrima that I will use," Hikaru smiled slowly.

"There is a flaw in your speech," Natsu chimed in, walking to stand next to Lucy. "H…huh?" Hikaru coughed again. "The room is structured such that it can only absorb a certain amount of magic but the magic we had used earlier and now, it more than it can handle so in the end, the magic returned to us. It's like a balloon, when it is too filled, it will burst," Natsu continued explaining. "And the properties will return to where it came from originally," Lucy ended, grinning. "It's over Hikaru. You won't win this," Natsu said.

"I…How did you figure it out? But nevermind that. There are still explosive lacrimas attached to each mages' body right now. It will explode in two hours, if I don't stop it. And I am sure it won't be a pretty sight," Hikaru slowly regained her confidence. "We'll find a way to stop it, Princess," Lucy spoke softly.

"Because that's what Fairy Tail does!" Natsu shouted, his voice resonating around the room.

/ _To Be Continued_ /

|| Reiko's Note – This was written under a lot of stress so it won't turn out so good. In retrospect, I think my first few chapters were better by a lot Anyways, I hoped you still enjoyed this and continue supporting the story! Do review if possible and tell me what you think (: ||

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anything in relation to Fairy Tail such as the characters. I only own the story line :]


	8. Chapter 8 - Friends

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 8 – Friends_

"Warren!" Natsu yelled into the card that connected them all to Warren, the one with telepathy powers. "Yes Natsu?" Warren's voice came in immediately and the pair sighed. "Tell everyone who had danced on the platforms earlier to meet outside the palace and if any of the guards tries to stop 'em, just beat the hell outta them!" Natsu said, his usual chirpy self was back. Warren was confused and had questions to ask but he decided to leave it for later and did as he was told. Everyone was puzzled, bewildered but they knew Natsu would never be wrong and went of the palace, fortunately with no one stopping them.

"My mask," Lucy stared at the broken mask, which was lying on the floor. Suddenly, a warm hand came to her right cheek and Lucy looked up at Natsu who was looking at her affectionately. "There's no need to hide anymore. Come back to Fairy Tail, come back to your home," Natsu whispered to the blonde. Lucy pressed her cheek into his hand and nodded, before adjusting her belt and dress, putting up a brave front. "Okay, I'm ready to meet the rest!" Lucy declared, her eyes shining. It had been long since she felt that way and for the past two years, her heart was closed up but because of that one incident where they reunited, everything went back to normal. Natsu wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders, which felt the same like before and pressed her closer to him, not wanting to lose her ever again.

/

| Outside the palace |

"What's taking the hot head so long," Gray grumbled and used his hand to fend off Juvia who seemed to be sticking to him a lot that day. "I know right. We have larger people to move but he is the only one and he's taking forever," Gajeel said, his voice emotionless. Just then, from the palace's doors, came out the pink-headed mage with his mouth forming into a huge grin and beside him, in his arm… was a blonde wizard.

"Who…is she? She has an immense amount of magic power flowing through her veins… C—could it be-!" Wendy started saying and gasped. "What is it Wendy?" Romeo asked immediately, concerned. "LUCY!" all of them shouted at the same time when Lucy looked up, her chocolate brown eyes filled with tears. "Lucy-san!" Wendy felt countless of emotions overwhelming her, and tears started to fill her eyes too. Everyone rushed at the blonde mage and hugged her, all but Gray, Erza and Gajeel. Questions were thrown at her and she tried to answer but they were all asked too quickly. "Hey guys, it's been tough for Lucy. She had just finished a match with the host, Hikaru," Natsu held up both his hands, stopping them from squeezing Lucy to death. Lucy laughed and smiled, never feeling so happy in her life.

"Hey Erza, Gray, Gajeel," Lucy nodded at the three people who didn't welcome her as happily as the others did. "You…are you really Lucy? The Lucy I knew doesn't have so much magical power in her. Are you from another world?" Erza started, her hands grasping at something in the air, presumely her sword. "Yeah, I know right," Gray said, folding his arms across his chest. "Of course I'm Lucy," Lucy answered, feeling a little hurt. "Then why do you have so much magic in you?" Gajeel challenged her. "I left for a reason," Lucy started and by then the rest were silent, listening to her story. "I felt that I was incompetent to be in Fairy Tail and I was a disgrace… so I ended up telling Master that I would leave," Lucy continued, her tears slowly falling down. "And I went to train in somewhere outside of Magnolia, to increase my powers and I learnt many many things," Lucy ended, looking at the three once more. Their faces had softened but Gajeel was still a little sceptical, "So prove to us that you're her."

"Well… if you say so," Lucy smiled and stepped back, also motioning for the rest to do so. They formed a circle around her and Lucy closed her eyes, fully concentrating. "The gates of the zodiac, I open thee; Zodiac Spirits!" Lucy shouted and a huge gush of wind went through them. Golden light surrounded Lucy and one by one, each of the spirits appeared, ending with Loke, who managed to wave at the members before disappearing once more. 12 gates were very very difficult to open but Lucy managed it, for three seconds and it disappeared. The light faded slowly, and when she opened her eyes, Lucy saw everyone's jaws drop. "You have really gotten strong, kid," Gajeel grinned at her. Gray petted her head softly, "You definitely did." Next was Erza who held out both her hands, moving to hug Lucy. Lucy hugged Erza tight, ignoring the sharp pains the metal armour carried.

A soft cough from behind her made her jump back and she whirled around to find Natsu actually looking serious. "Okay guys listen up! Let's save the reunion for later because we have something more important to do," Natsu shouted and got everyone's attention. However, Romeo started saying, "What's more important than Lucy-ne's return?" "There's an explosive Lacrima on your body by now and… every single wizard that had danced on the platforms earlier. It is slowly taking in your magic power, to be transferred to the Princess inside. We have to find a way to stop the explosion, the taking of magic as well," Natsu said firmly, explaining the situation. Lucy nodded and stepped forward, her right hand in a fist, and it looked exceptionally empty without the mark. Everyone had gasped when they heard the news but Lucy said, "Don't worry, I already have a faint idea of how to stop the Lacrimas. Anyways, we need to go back to the guild first. I'll meet you guys back there later."

With that, Lucy started walking to the direction of her house but was stopped by a warm hand around her wrist. She turned and looked at Natsu, who was looking at her with a frown on his face. "Where are you going now? Let me go with you," Natsu said urgently. "I'm going back to change. Don't worry, I will go back to the guild, so you just go with them first," Lucy said quietly, her eyes looking down. Natsu knew in her heart that she wouldn't lie so he nodded and released her. "Stay safe, Lucy," Natsu whispered.

"I will Natsu. Don't worry."

/ _To be continued / _

A/N – Hello! Sorry for the late update! I am too busy now adays to update frequently so I hope you will understand! This is not my best chapter because of certain reasons, which I cannot speak of but I still hope ya'll will enjoy it! (: I will update soon ~~

/

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anything in relation to Fairy Tail except for the storyline for this particular story. All credits goes to Hiro Mashima, the original writer and exceptionally great artist.


	9. Chapter 9 - Help

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 9 – Help_

As Lucy walked back quickly to her apartment, all her thoughts were filled with Fairy Tail, about how much she missed them and how much she had missed out throughout the past 2 years. However, there was one feeling that remained unchanged. It was her love for Natsu. No, it wasn't just a friendship kind of love or a sibling kind but it was _love_, something Lucy had never truly experienced till two years ago. Lucy could still remember how she would blush inwardly at the slightest contact she and Natsu made, how she would always want to get into his line of vision rather than him fighting with Gray. Shaking her head, Lucy sighed and quickened her pace, arriving at her apartment. The girl changed quickly, into her new outfit which she loved: A dark blue tank top, with a pink and white striped cardigan. She buckled on her weapons belt in a swift motion around her short light blue skirt. Finally, Lucy put on her new leather boots and started walking out, feeling very much like her usual self.

Lucy turned into a short alley, where she would have to pass to make her way to Fairy Tail, and started walking. The alley felt darker than usual and the shadows seemed to creep toward her. Lucy suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, and her hairs stood up straight. However, she had trained herself to put on a cold and strong façade so she asked loudly, her monotonous voice resonating through the alley, "Who is it?" Soft footsteps came from behind her and Lucy whirled around, her right hand moving to where her whip was. A cloaked figure stepped closer to Lucy but the girl refused to back down and stood where she was, waiting. The figure slowly removed his hood, taking Lucy's breath away immediately. The guy standing in front of her was gorgeous, his dark brown hair reaching his sunset-dawn coloured eyes in uneven bangs and his face features perfect. His mouth was set in a grim line and she was sure that if he smiled, he would be known as a Greek God. Behind the cloak, Lucy couldn't make out his figure but she knew. She knew that he had a hell of a figure and it would charm anyone walking down the streets, male or female.

"Lucy Heartfillia," his mouth moved slightly, and Lucy's guard went up. Her dreamy state totally dissipated and she met his gaze equally. "What do you want?" Lucy asked, her voice hardening significantly. "Excuse me for the sudden appearance, but I am Adrian," Adrian said, his voice much gentler now. "So…?" Lucy prompted. "I work for Princess Hikaru as an undercover and I need your help," he said urgently, face suddenly contorting into a panic one. Adrian stepped closer, squeezing his eyes shut. "I need your help to eliminate the princess, to destroy all the lacrimas she had spent half her life building. My power alone isn't enough but your power, milady, is immense," Adrian continued on, eyes pleading. Lucy had trouble digesting all the information but she vaguely knew what he wanted. "What makes you think I would believe you?" Lucy challenged, putting both her hands on her hips. "After this… I swear upon the heavens I'll tell you," Adrian whispered hoarsely and put both his hands out, interlocking them together.

"Shadow Dimension: Code twenty!" he shouted and Lucy couldn't make sense out of it. The shadows gathered behind and in front of her, making their move to squeeze her to death, like a python. "Adrian!" Lucy yelled, her eyes shaking. Grabbing her whip, she did a hard flick and the shadows in front disappeared. Turning back quickly, Lucy flicked her whip at the ones behind as well and they vanished. "Adrian, what in the wor—" Lucy started saying as she turned back toward him. However, behind him was Princess Hikaru, dressed in different clothing. She was clad in clothing meant for running, meant for battle. Lucy met Adrian's eyes and Adrian seemed to be telling her a message: _Run_

"So I see you have made your move already, my lord," Hikaru said, her finger trailing upon Adrian's neck. "Yes I have, milady. I must not let the key escape," Adrian said, his voice changing from how he was speaking to Lucy. "Excellent job, now just leave this to me," Hikaru said quietly, into Adrian's ear and pushed him back as gently as she could. Lucy knew what Hikaru was about to do and she got ready her keys, prepared to summon her celestial spirits. "Just now was just warm up, in real battle, you cannot win me," Hikaru said, her eyes drifting toward Lucy's pouch. Lucy's confidence didn't falter, and she took out a key, her foundational one. "Gate of the heavenly scales; I open thee. Libra!" she summoned the gravity powered spirit. "Please return my gravity level to normal if this lady changes it," she said, her voice warm. Libra nodded, and stood by the side. "Gate of the golden bull; I open thee. Taurus!" one of her stronger spirits appeared. "Taurus, annihilate her," Lucy ordered and Taurus gripped his axe tight. "Anything for you, Lucy," Taurus grinned and dashed toward Hikaru, his large axe almost descending upon her when she disappeared.

"Moo?" Taurus sounded confused. Suddenly, Lucy felt a wind blow against her neck and she felt Hikaru's presence. "Too slow, celestial spirit mage," Hikaru whispered as she placed a knife onto Lucy's neck, at the vital area. Using her other hand, Hikaru gathered up magic power, prepared to kill the girl and use her blood as an opening to all the power she could get. "I won't let you," Lucy hissed. The knife went in further and a trickle of blood could be seen on Lucy's pale white neck. "Oh really? What are you going to do then, Miss Heartfillia?" Hikaru mocked Lucy, her voice filled with sarcasm.

"Something," Lucy answered, her hand slowly moving to her belt. "Hey, no one said you could move," Hikaru swatted Lucy's hand away with her own glowing hand and Lucy gritted her teeth in anger. She couldn't do anything, despite all the training she went through. Just as Lucy thought that she would die, a loud voice came from behind them.

"Ain't nobody's gonna lay their knives on Lucy, because if they do, they're as good as dead."

/ _To be continued /_

A/N – Hey guys^^ I've decided to make this note a little longer because there are some clarifications I need to make. I know, this is an international webpage so there will definitely be users who are more inclined in the English language. I am not one of them because of the poor English I use in my stories. I even use abbreviations when I am not supposed to in an essay/story like this. It is not strongly encouraged by experts but I just [can't] help myself. I am not awesome in finding my own spelling; punctuation and grammatical error so I need all of you to help me! If you find any errors that you feel that it is a need to point out, please review and I'll try to change it or I will try to change the habit of doing that. Now on to the proper story note, I have to say that this, again, wasn't one of my best. I am really sleepy right now so this story is a quick one, so you lovely followers wouldn't need to wait so long. Please follow, favourite and review my story! Love ya'll!

/

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anything in relation to the Fairy Tail because it is credited to the original and fantastic creator of this manga series. I only own the storyline, and my horrendous mistake in writing it.


	10. Chapter 10 - Secure

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 10 – Secure_

Hikaru loosened her grip on the knife for just a moment to turn around and see who it was but it was all the time Lucy needed to kick Hikaru in the stomach. Hikaru went tumbling downward, and she seethed. Trying to get up with one hand clutching her stomach, she stumbled and fell back down again. Lucy bent down to pick up the knife that Hikaru had put against her throat, before walking steadily toward a still coughing Hikaru. "So I see. Your weakness is physical attacks," Lucy said coldly, pointing the knife at Hikaru. "Lucy, don't do anything stupid," Adrian called from behind, ignoring the fact that Hikaru would find out that he was actually a betrayer.

"Don't worry, I won't. Maybe I'll just disfigure her or something. She deserves it for putting those Lacrimas on our nakamas," Lucy said, her voice still monotonous. Hikaru forgot that she had magic in her body and started moving backward, here whole body shivering. Natsu walked toward Hikaru from the back, his hand lit with flames. "You hurt Lucy. I don't care what you say but you're going down," Natsu said, his voice pitched dangerously low. Lucy twirled the knife expertly in her hands and continued surveying Hikaru, "However, if you tell us how to remove those hell of a lacrimas, then perhaps I'll forgive you." Hikaru stopped shivering right then, and looked downward to the floor. However, Lucy could see that the Princess was smiling a little. "What's so funny?" Natsu asked, the fire on his hand extinguishing.

"You know, I forgot one thing. But you reminded me of it," Hikaru lifted her head slowly and Lucy felt her heart skip a beat. "I have magic as my trump card, and YOU DON'T!" Hikaru yelled, her hands interlocking. Golden light pulsated through them, and were shooting straight at Lucy. The light was blinding, and Lucy knew she wouldn't have a chance against the power. "SHIT, LUCY!" Natsu yelled, but his voice got vague, as the light hit Lucy. She didn't feel pain, however, but she felt like every ounce of her energy had been drained. Lucy swayed a little, and tried to speak, but the energy level in her body was too low and she started falling, onto the hard concrete.

Warm hands enveloped themselves around her, and for a moment, Lucy thought it was Natsu. She opened her brown eyes slowly, and saw Adrian staring down at her with concern in his eyes. His mouth seemed to be moving, seemed to be shaping words, but Lucy couldn't hear them. None at all.

/

Natsu was enraged. He felt anger boiling up in him for two specific reasons. One was legitimate; the other was just… stupid. Lucy had been hit by the golden light, and it seemed like she was fine but Natsu knew better. "What did you do with her?!" Natsu demanded, his voice getting louder. Hikaru lifted a shoulder, "My magic. I have the magic that enables me to zap energy out of people for two hours. Plus, Gravitational Magic helps too." Natsu gritted his teeth, and a look at Lucy being in Adrian's arms got him even madder than before. "Roar of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu shouted, and fire spewed out of his mouth, straight at Hikaru. Hikaru grinned, and held out a finger, making a downward motion. "Gravity Manipulation: Downward," she whispered. The fire went down and dissipated in a matter of seconds.

"As long as you use magic, you will _never_ win against me," Hikaru winked. Natsu was stunned for a second, that his attack didn't hit, but it was that statement that struck him. He had fights with Gray for as long as he could remember without magic and damn, Gray's physical strength was definitely better than the Princess. "So if I can't use magic…" Natsu started running toward Hikaru, "then I shall use my fist!" He held out his right fist and struck the princess on the jaw. A sickening crack was heard and a surprised Hikaru fell onto the ground once more, her hand cradling her face. She couldn't speak then, and Natsu felt somewhat triumphant. "This is for Lucy!" Natsu charged at her again, and kicked her in the gut. Followed by a punch on the leg, a kick by the ribs. "So how does it feel, to actually be hurt?" Natsu said sarcastically, totally unlike him and walked back to where Lucy was.

"Time to hand her over to me," Natsu held out both his arms. Adrian was just getting comfortable with having Lucy in his arms when the Fire mage wanted her back. Lucy's eyes were closed by then and Adrian looked up, his eyes serious. "You have to send her to your healer, because if you don't, she will die due to the immense lack of energy," Adrian told Natsu, before gingerly propping Lucy up against his shoulder. Natsu bit his lower lip, but nodded and bent down, carrying Lucy up. She felt very light and Natsu was shocked. Two years back, Lucy would've been at least 10kilograms heavier but she was in fact as light as a feather. "What happened to you, Lucy?" Natsu whispered, stroking her cheek gingerly.

/

When Lucy gained consciousness, she felt something soft under her back and her clothes seemed to have a change. They felt silky soft, and very cooling to wear in. "H..huh?" she turned her head, finding herself to be in a room with herbs and medicines on the cabinets surrounding the area. "Hey, Lucy," she heard a male's voice and a smile touched her face. It was Natsu. "Hey Natsu," Lucy tried to get up but she didn't feel like she had the energy to do so. "You have been out for at least half-an-hour, it's amazing how you can recover so quickly," another female and older voice came from behind the bed. Lucy craned her neck and saw their official healer, Porlyusica, stirring something in a clear conical flask. "What happened?" she asked, returning her attention to Natsu.

Natsu went to seat beside her, on the soft bed and held her hand gently. "You were hit by the strong attack of Hikaru, and you went unconscious soon after. I had beaten her up, and got a lot of information out of Adrian as we were walking here," Natsu rubbed the back of her palms with his thumb. "What did Adrian say?" Lucy asked, curiosity overwhelming her. "Adrian said that the only way to deactivate the Lacrima was to get another magic user who specialises in decoding stuff to decode the code that is on the main generator which is in Hikaru's palace," Natsu continued on. Lucy's mind immediately went through the people who could possibly be able to decode it and a certain blue hair mage popper up in her mind.

"How about Levy-chan? And Freed too," Lucy suggested, her brown eyes twinkling. Natsu thought over it for a while before a grin started forming on his face. "You're a genius Lucy! We have all the pros in our guild, why didn't I think of them?" Natsu yelled, accidentally pulling Lucy's hand and pulling her up. Lucy felt a stab of pain in her gut and bit down hard on her lip to stifle the gasp. "Dragon slayer, don't get too excited over there. Lucy's still in a critical condition," Porlyusica warned Natsu, turning around and fixating her red eyes on him. Natsu calmed down, and gently lowered Lucy on the bed, "Right… Sorry about that. Anyways, you get plenty of rest and by the time I come back everyone will be safe!" Natsu started to get up, but halted as Lucy caught the hem of his clothing. "I'll go with you, just… don't leave me anymore okay?" Lucy said, blushing slightly.

Natsu turned around, and kneeled in front of Lucy. "You can't come. You're sick," Natsu held both her hands in his large ones. "I can go, just.. please?" Lucy begged, her voice hushed. Natsu mulled over it and sighed, running both his hands through his pink spiky hair. "Okay. But promise to make me do all the fighting from now on?" Natsu raised an eyebrow. Lucy nodded excitedly, the twinkle in her eyes returning. Natsu couldn't help but smile at that, and touched his forehead to hers.

"I love you, Lucy…" he muttered.

"What was that..?" Lucy asked, not sure if she heard right.

"I.. Love.. You."

/ _To be continued _/

A/N – Hi! ISHH all the NaLu feels in this chapter. Anyways, I'm rather excited to continue on this story and I hope you guys are as excited as I am to read it^^ Review, follow and favourite please! It makes my day and motivates me to continue on ~ By the way, also check out my new story ALLIANCE which features Fairy Tail and a recent anime I've watched: The Irregular at Magic High School. Yep, it's a cross-over and I am having too many ideas for it :] Thanks!

/

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anything in relation to Fairy Tail because it all belongs to the original writer, amazing artist and creator, Hiro Mashima. I only own this storyline and all the mistakes I made it it :3


	11. Chapter 11 - Life

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 11 – Life_

The moment Natsu said those words to Lucy, Lucy felt her heart race. She didn't believe him at first, and thought that it was because he wanted to make her stay there. "Wha..what are you saying Natsu?" Lucy looked away, her face beet red. "I'll still go with you even if you say such things," Lucy muttered. There was no response from Natsu who was burying his face in the crook of her neck. Only the softest touch of his lips on her collarbone. It sent Lucy shivering slightly and Natsu right hand slowly moved up her spine to caress the back of her neck. "Lucy, I'm not joking here. I have loved you as a friend since the day we met, and it slowly grew. When we went to Edolas, when I saw you fighting for us for just that instance, I knew it had to be more than friendship love. I mean… why would my heart beat every time I saw you in action? Why would I feel like I have a certain responsibility toward you?" Natsu whispered, and he looked up, his eyes glistening.

Lucy's breath hitched and she took her own right hand, which was still missing of the guild's emblem, to touch his cheek gently. "I… I didn't know you felt the same way I did. Whenever I saw your love toward the guild, toward our friends, there was something in me that glowed. I was proud of you and I knew there was something special that had captured my heart," Lucy smiled, teardrops falling down from her eyes. Natsu reached up his left hand to wipe them away and kissed her cheek gingerly, "Don't cry. It's a happy thing to know you feel the same." Lucy nodded and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, they were shining so brightly, like the light inside her was struggling to come out through the windows that connected her to her soul. And Natsu loved it.

/

The pair walked together out into the woods, and Natsu's muscular arm was wrapped around Lucy's thin shoulders. "Lucy, you haven't been eating well, have you?" Natsu asked, his eyes showing signs of worry. Lucy shook her head, "I don't have time to eat. I have been going on missions to earn Jewels so I can support myself so eating is secondary." Natsu sighed upon hearing it and said, "Once everything is settled down I will make sure you are back to your old self." Lucy nodded and mumbled thanks, though secretly she knew that her appetite had changed totally.

It took them fifteen minutes to walk back to Fairy Tail, but before they even stepped into the compound of it, shouts and cheers could be heard. "Woah, Fairy Tail back to its rowdy self eh?" Lucy chuckled. Natsu laughed out loud and suddenly, a cute voice could be heard, "NATSUUUUU! LUCYYYYY!" They both look up to see a certain flying blue cat flying toward them at a dangerous speed. "WOAH!" Natsu released Lucy as Happy flew into his arms Happy had tears in his large eyes and Lucy stared down at the cat curiously. "OH NO! Lucy has forgotten meeee!" Happy said dramatically, but sounded really genuine. Lucy couldn't help but laugh again and reached a hand out to pat Happy. "I didn't forget you, Happy. How could I?" she grinned at him. Happy cried tears of joy and just at that moment, Team Fairy Tail was reformed.

"Anyways, our real purpose here is to get Levy and Freed," Natsu reminded them after five minutes of rowdiness. Lucy straightened up and nodded, "I haven't had a good laugh in ages but yeah, our purpose is way more important." Natsu grinned and pulled Lucy plus Happy to the guild, smiling all the way.

/

The moment Lucy walked into the guild, the scent of it hit her and she felt tears prick her eyes. Tears of happiness and she quickly blinked them away. Everything was left as it was two years ago, with everyone even at their usual tables. Mira was behind the counter, cleaning and drying the cups used by the members. "LU-CHAN!" Levy's voice could be heard and immediately, Lucy was embraced by the bluenette. "Hi Levy!" Lucy smiled as she hugged her best friend back, feeling the tears back again. Yes, she was still the cry baby as she was before but the tears were of a totally different meaning. "Levy, we need to ask you for a favour," Natsu said, informing the Solid Script user seriously. Levy tilted her head to one side, questioning. "Well you see, we told you about the Lacrimas on your body right? Well, we have found a way to stop it. We need to decode the code that is on the generator and we thought that both Freed and Levy might be of help. We only have like one hour left so we gotta hurry!" Natsu explained quickly, getting impatient.

"Okay, I'm all in for it, if it's for the guild," Levy said, nodding firmly. A male's voice came from the back and he said, "I disagree. This is a dangerous mission…" It was Gajeel, who had on a pokerface but anyone who noticed his eyes would see the worry in them. "We'll go with her, it's not like she'll be doing a solo mission," Gray rolled his eyes, totally getting where Natsu was going form. "In this case, I want to go," Gajeel said, his hands folded across his broad and perhaps totally metallic chest. "Gaje…el, you don't have to go, it'll be fast," Levy said softly, looking down. Lucy could see that the bluenette's pale face had gone beet red and she couldn't help but chuckle. "It's not like I'm doing this for you or anything!" Gajeel said, fuming but it was a lie of course.

Levy meant everything to him, but that, was a whole other story.

"I agree to this plan," Freed stood up from one of the tables and cracked his knuckles. "Time to use your brains for something good and useful, finally," Ever said, showing him a smirk. Freed ignored the lady and asked, "When will we go?" "No time like the present, ain't it?" Natsu said, grinning. "Uhm.. me and Erza-san will go too!" Wendy said, voicing out. "Time to beat the crap out of those assholes who caused these too all the guilds in Magnolia," Erza said as she walked out toward the exit of the guild with her armour fully in place. Wendy and Carla went after her, followed by Gajeel who insisted on going and Gray who wouldn't leave his rival doing all the job. Juvia wanted to participate but Cana pulled her down for a drink, successfully knocking her out. "Go do the job, Team Natsu!" Macao pumped his fist into the air.

Lucy and Natsu exchanged looks before they smiled and ran after the rest, enjoying the sweetness of friendship.

They didn't notice, but unknowingly, Team Natsu was completed again and the strongest mages of Fairy Tail were out and about once more.

/ _To be continued _/

A/N – Herro! Been a few days since I updated but I decided to give this chapter some cheesy stuff and all :p The response for chapter 10 was better than the others and I really appreciated it so I am more motivated now! In any case, I know I have been dragging the story for so long but I have my reasons ^^ The next chapter will be of them saving the country and then further on will just be _. It's a surprise :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll update both this story and my new one soon! I have no time for the new one yet but I will do so tomorrow, if possible :3 Please review and tell me what you think!

/

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own anything in relation to Fairy Tail because all of it belongs to the original creator and amazing artist Hiro Mashima. I only own the story line! C:


	12. Chapter 12 - C'mon

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 12 – C'mon_

Even with enhancement of their speed, they reached the palace in 15 minutes and therefore 45 minutes was all they had left to complete their tasks and most of the work was to be done by both Freed and Levy. "Okay," Erza had one hand on her hip, waiting rather impatiently for the rest. She had ran ahead and reach there way before the rest. "The plan is, Natsu, Lucy, Levy and Freed will go into the place where the power is held, and the two who are supposed to the job will do it. Natsu and Lucy will protect them, using all the power they can. Me, Gajeel and Gray will fight of any enemies coming from the North, West and South. From the East, Wendy will do the South. Got it?" Erza strategized everything, giving them positions they were most comfortable with. "Also, Wendy and Carla will survey from the top and shout to us about enemies we cannot see," she gave the evil eye to both exceeds who nodded, not daring to utter a word.

"Since when have Erza gotten so good at strategizing?" Lucy raised a hand, her face in awe. "Well, uhm, ever since Lucy-san went away for training, Erza-san had trained her mind to be a lot like the first master, Mavis," Wendy answered shyly, her face beaming up with pride for her nakama. Erza gave a small smile before her face turned solemn again and she held out her finger, "Yeah anyways, let's go!" Everyone made a 'woosh' sound before moving off to their various positions, with Natsu holding Lucy's hand tightly. No, he wasn't _ever _going to let her go again. She was everything to him, and if he lost her again he thought he would lose his mind.

/

"HEY stop right there!" was the first thing that resonated through Lucy's ears when she entered the palace which was then strewn with streamers and decorations that were once put up magnificently. Two large guards approached the four of them and the two boys pushed both girls back. Lucy's eye muscles twitched and she suddenly felt a wave of anger. How dare they still look down upon her? Lucy pushed Levy back even more and stood beside Natsu, feeling a little stronger. "Stay back Lucy," Natsu hissed, but his voice was kind. Lucy shook her head and set her mouth into a grim line, "Look. Those guards can't even work magic. I'll settle them in a jiffy." She took out her whip and flicked her wrist. The golden-blue whip extended and parted into two at the ends, each end catching each guard's ankle. Lucy gave a hard jerk and they yelped, falling onto the ground with a hard thunk. Their amour, however, protected them, but Lucy had something else in mind. With another flicking motion, she took the whip away from their ankle and made it wrap around their necks instead, where it was the most vulnerable. "You will not speak of anyone about us, understand?" she squeezed the whip and it in turn squeezed their necks. Their hands flew up to pull the golden-blue whip away but to no avail. They only got tighter and from the distance, Freed could already see their faces turning blue.

Leaving with no choice, the two guards nodded and Lucy nodded back, satisfied. She unwound her whip from their necks and kept it back, putting it into her belt. "See, easy," Lucy swiped both her hands together. "Remind me_ never_ to get on your bad side, Luce," Natsu said, his voice a little hoarse. Lucy couldn't help but feel triumphant and she grinned at the mage she fell in love with. "Uh guys, no time for flirting. Time to go," a small voice came behind them. Levy had a broad smile on her face and she started up the steps, toward a hallway of rooms which doors looked exactly the same. "Make a guess, which room is it?" Freed came up behind her, his head turning from left to right. Levy closed her eyes and held out both hands, palms faced forward. "That room," her eyes flew open as she pointed her finger at the room at the utmost left. Lucy felt a hum brush through her body as she looked at the room and knew, for sure, that Levy was right.

"Okay, let's go then!" Natsu said cheerfully as he made his way to the door. He placed his hand on the cool metal handle and pressed, but there was no effect. "The door is locked," he looked at his nakamas, raising an eyebrow. "Use your brains, flame-brain. Punch through the damn door with your fire," Freed rolled his eyes, making a hand gesture toward the oak door. "Right.." Natsu scratched his chin and lit his right hand up in fire. "Fire Dragon's…. fist!" he shouted as he charged toward the door. He felt the wooden material splinter under the attack and gave way eventually, making a huge groaning sound. "Go on in Freed, Levy. We'll stay guard here," Lucy smiled and patted Levy's lower back. The two nodded and went in, careful to step out of the smoking wood's way. "Natsu, you probably went overboard in destroying the door again," Lucy folded her arms across her chest, chiding Natsu who was looking guiltily at the charred door.

"Yeah I know, but I can't control the fire, Luce," Natsu shrugged and turned his attention back to her. His gaze lingered a little longer on her face, which made her feel embarrassed, before he turned to the stairs. "We caused so much damage and noise here, they're sure to find us," Natsu said as he moved closer. Moving closer also meant moving closer to Lucy and she suddenly felt _so_ safe. "Yeah, we should be more alert," Lucy agreed as she prepared her keys. Though summoning all twelve of them was tiring and exhausting earlier, she had regained her magic and was ready to fight, nevertheless.

Then the first guard came, holding a sword very much like Freed's. Natsu didn't hesitate, before he kicked the guard down with one strike of his foot and pressed on his chest. "This will be much easier if you don't resist," he said, trying to sound fierce but with Natsu, it was virtually impossible. Lucy shook her head before walking over and pressing _her _boot on his armoured chest. "I'm going to put you to sleep now, guard. If you tell anyone about us, you're as good as dead," she whipped out her knife which she had acquired a while back. The guard nodded in trepidation and let Lucy do her job. She used the materials she had to create a sleeping smoke and let the guard inhale it. After a minute, he fell asleep, unknown to the world.

"Wow Luce, since when did you get so frightening?" Natsu took a step back, but he was grinning. Lucy shrugged, "Well I don't know…maybe…! LOOK OUT!" Her eyes widened as she saw a dark shadow move against the wall, and a sword came flying at Natsu.

3….

2…

On-..

/

_To be continued. _

_/_

A/N – It's been a week, yes, but I'll tell you something first. From today onwards I'll only be updating weekly since school is seriously my arch enemy. So ya. But I put my best in most of my chapters, and I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Thanks for your awesome reviews + your follows and favourites! Please continue to do so and I shall see you guys in a day or so for the next chapter of 'ALLIANCE'!

/

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anything related to Fairy Tail. It all belongs to the awesome original writer and creator of this fantastic story, Hiro Mashima. I only own the storyline ^^


	13. Chapter 13 - Saviour

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 13 – Saviour_

"NATSU!" Lucy yelled as she ran toward him at the very last moment and pushed him to the ground. The sword missed him by a millimetre and stuck Lucy instead, impaling itself right into her shoulder, centimetres away from her vital organ. However, Lucy did not feel pain, did not feel anything related to the wound she carried on her shoulder at all. The only thing she felt was fatigue and she felt herself crumpling to the ground, her legs giving way. Her vision became blurry, but her mind was filled with thoughts of a certain mage, of a certain pinked hair mage who changed her entire life, her entire existence. _Natsu_. His name was appearing in big bold letters in her mind and even as she closed her eyes to try to take a break from the fatigue, everything was him. Pink. Red. Fire. Every single morsel of him was appearing and flashing through her mind.

That was before darkness finally eloped and she fell into a deep sleep…

/

When she woke up, her back felt like it was against something soft and warm and Lucy slowly cracked open one eye. The first face she saw was one of the man she loved, the man who had matured over the years she had gone away. "Lucy, you're awake!" he said excitedly, before turning his head to shout for Wendy, their emergency healer. "Lucy-san, how are you feeling?" Wendy asked in her adorable voiced and Lucy couldn't resist but smile. She opened her mouth to say something but her throat felt constricted and no words could come out. It didn't feel parched; all it felt was pure emptiness. Natsu stroked Lucy's blonde hair tenderly as he looked down at her with worried eyes," Lucy, why can't you speak?" Wendy put two fingers to the hollow of Lucy's throat, closing her eyes and concentrated. "Oh..oh my god," Wendy covered her mouth with both her hands. Her eyes whelmed up with tears and she started stuttering, "The sword… pierced through Lucy's shoulder and hit one of the nerves that control her speech. She… she cannot speak anymore." Upon hearing this, Lucy literally felt her heart sink and she opened her mouth again, trying to protest, trying to prove Wendy wrong but once more, no words came out of her mouth and her throat felt like all it was doing was blowing out air.

"Lucy-san, don't struggle. We can still fix your nerves, but it would take a whole three months of my magic power to do so," Wendy said, finally calming down and fixated her dark brown eyes on Lucy's chocolate ones. "Lucy-san, I will ask Cheria as well, to help you and in no time you can speak again," Wendy said firmly, not wanting to give up in trying to help her friend in regaining her voice back. Lucy had so many things to say but she could not and as if he could read her mind, Natsu took a pen and paper, placing them on Lucy's lap such that should could convey whatever she wanted to via the paper.

She wrote: _Was the mission successful?_ Natsu read it and literally felt his heart strings pull. How could the girl care so much about everyone else when one of her important abilities was lost? And at that moment he knew he had loved the correct girl. "Yes, yes it was successful even when you fell unconscious. I managed to fight off the rest of the guards because of my anger and Levy and Freed got in. Eventually, in less than two minutes they walked out with a smile on their face and it was a triumphant smile. I shouted for Wendy to come up and Carla helped her, finally they healed you and now you are here, alive and well," Natsu related the whole story in summary to Lucy who was listening intently.

Lucy was glad that everything went well because if it didn't it would probably because of her fall. Why didn't she deflect the sword, you may ask? It is because all she wanted to do at that time was to _protect_ Natsu from the incoming sword and she wanted to at least be useful but all she ended up doing was becoming a burden once more. Lucy wrote several words on the paper again, jokingly: _Natsu, since when was your vocabulary bank so vast?_ Natsu read it and chuckled before taking out a book from a bag she never knew he carried and tossed it to her. Lucy caught it in mid-air and stared at the title, amazed at what Natsu was reading. He was reading and memorising the words in the _dictionary _even though it was a very huge challenge. _Not bad Natsu, read to me will you?_ Lucy asked on the paper and Natsu nodded without hesitation.

By that time, Wendy had already gone out to give the two love birds some privacy and Lucy truly appreciated it. Natsu got up once more and got a fantasy genre book for Lucy. He tucked her in, and the small movement had sent jolts of pain up her shoulder but she didn't say anything because she would endure everything for the touch of Natsu, so gentle and kind. Natsu started flipping over to the first page, reading with flawless fluency and accurate pronunciation. Lucy felt her eyelids grow heavier by the second and she started yawning, without sound of course, and soon, fell into a world of dream land where everything was perfect.

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"She's a true saviour, she really is. I don't understand why she left the guild in the first place," Lucy could hear a female's voice; however it wasn't Erza because Erza had a much deeper and matured voice. She opened one eye and squinted, only to find Cana in her usual outfit speaking with a very distressed Natsu. She shifted her weight on the bed a little, and closed her eyes trying to sleep again but the next words of Cana stopped her from slipping into dream land.

"I think we should get her back to Fairy Tail as soon as possible. She is a saviour and a miracle. No one would have survived that sword impaled in their shoulder. She would be essential to our plan."

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_To be continued_

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A/N – I'm so damn sorry for not updating for so many days but c'mon, we all know school's out to kill me right? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this story and I will be updating 'Alliance' as soon as I can; no promises! See ya guys soon! (:

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**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anything related to Fairy Tail. It all belongs to the awesome original writer and creator of this fantastic story, Hiro Mashima. I only own the storyline.


	14. Chapter 14 - Powers

Celestial Melody

_Chapter 14 – Powers_

"NO I will never allow her to be part of this plan. Besides, she cannot talk anymore, what makes you so damn sure she'll be able to pull _that _off?" Natsu shouted, a little too loudly and Lucy couldn't help but flinch. She could not hide the fact that she had been listening in to their conversation. Fortunately, the two of the other mages did not see her flinch and continued debating over whether they should allow Lucy into whatever plan. "Seriously, Natsu, think logically. She doesn't need her voice to pull _it _off because we only need her powers. If her powers are activated, then we can save the world…" Cana said, after taking a gulp of her booze. She was getting fed-up but the insistent Natsu, but she knew that no one other than Lucy would help them.

"She… Convince her then. If you can convince her, then I think the rest of the Guild would agree to it to," Natsu relented, and went out, closing the door with a soft click. He did not understand why they could not use his strong powers for the plan, and needed to use Lucy's new found powers. "Damn it…" he whispered, and punched the wall beside him, making a deep indent on it. However, let's take a step back, and visit Cana and Lucy. "Lucy… are you awake?" Cana touched Lucy's shoulder gently, feeling the shivers coming from Lucy. Lucy pretended to move a little, before opening one eye and tried to smile. She forgot that her voice was gone, and tried to speak but obviously nothing came out of her throat. Lucy felt a tear drop falling, slowly, from the corner of her left eye. She reached for a paper and ignored the tear; writing down: _So.. I heard you and Natsu were talking really loudly but I could not catch what was going on. Fill me in? _

Cana took the paper from her friend, and her face fell significantly after she read it. "Okay… We were talking about you," she sighed, and raked a hand through her hair. She did not know how to start the conversation without hurting Lucy's feelings, or at least would probably hurt it. "The two years you were gone, something actually happened. There is this evil source, even more menacing than any we have ever encountered. We are not sure what it is but we know its aim. It wants to accumulate enough magical power to take over the world. Mages from the entire world have tried to locate this source but to no avail. Therefore, two major guilds were selected by the magic council to give it the magic power it wants. Fairy Tail and Sabertooth was chosen. Sabertooth is working hard, but Fairy Tail isn't. We are forming up a plan, to give it a deadly magic power, a deadly magic lacrima such that when it gets hold of it, it will explode. It will die and never to be seen from the Earth again. There is one problem. The only type of magic that can do that is Lost Magic and no one in Fairy Tail has that magic, or even close to it…" Cana said slowly, watching Lucy's expression closely. When she came to the end, Lucy had more or less knew what they wanted with her. But why? "Lucy… the thing is… ever since you came back, we knew that your Magic that you had acquired is the closest thing to Lost Magic. You see, even Dragon Slaying magic is not Lost magic because, well, it is Dragon Slaying magic. But the fact that you can summon all your spirits, you have an unknown magic sealed inside you from birth. It's something like second origin but much stronger. You could have died with that sword so close to your vital organs but the thing is, the magic that you have sealed inside protected you. You not being able to speak is also because of the strong magic you have," Cana continued, refusing to meet the blonde's face.

Lucy wanted to know more and leaned forward, really interested. Cana did not notice but went on nonetheless, "In every body, there's a defence and an offence magic locked inside. If you're in immense danger, the adrenaline will activate the defence magic and it will protect every part of your vital organs. For you, the defence power you have is too strong and when it went to protect your organs, it accidentally hit you vocal cords and temporarily damaged it. No, I'm not a healer but Levy had taught be all these. She acquired it from books and tried to explain it to me in the simplest way. Anyway, to continue, your vocal cords are self-repairing right now, as we speak also because of the defence magic in you. Every average mage has a 40 percent of magic in their body, maximum 80, for the case of the dragon slayers. For you, your body is mostly made of magic. I can even say that you are magic itself. You have 95% of magic in you and the other 5% is your basic human needs. Thus separated into 70% of water etc but that is not important. The thing is you are almost magic… and we need your magic. We need that immense of magic in you to carry out the plan we have been sorting out since a month after your departure. Do you understand what I'm saying, Lucy?" It was a very long speech, but Lucy understood and she bit her bottom lip nervously. She did not know that she had so much power in her, and she did not know that it played a very important part in their current state. She took the paper and wrote: _I need to know more about this power, will you tell me more? _Cana looked at it and nodded, willing to do anything as long as their plans worked.

"We call _it _the Madness. Reason for it? You can probably tell through the name we have given it. Madness has been causing Chaos all over the world, and is absorbing a lot of power but it is not enough. Its magic storage is up to only 30%, and the other 70% would come from us two guilds. Fairy Tail will be contributing more, naturally, which means the magic power we need is immense. Yes, your power will be needed but the other three dragon slayers; Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel will also be involved because their powers will serve as a foundation for your powers to layer on. Now, when you have 95% of magic in your body, once we drain it, you will be left with 40% of it, which is what your power is at 2 years ago. Because of this, your defence and offence magic will go down as well but it is essential for this plan to work. So what do you say, Lucy? Are you willing to lend us your power?" Cana explained then asked, her eyes full of hope. By that time, she was already sitting on the bed where Lucy was at. Lucy gripped the sheets tightly, asking herself if she wanted her magic to be back down to 40%, at the level where she thought she was so darn weak. Lucy sighed, putting her head down and contemplated. 10 seconds passed, and Lucy looked up slowly, to meet Cana's eyes steadily.

She felt her voice generating in her throat and she opened her mouth.

"Yes."

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_To Be Continued_

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A/N – I'm really sorry for not updating sooner but here's all the chunk of content that will explain many things. Yes I made up like most of it, but that's why stories are called stories eh? :D Thanks for stickin' around! This story will be ending soon… maybe like next chapter or something.. So yeah! Cya folks ^^

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**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own any of the characters because Hiro Mashima, the wonderful and awesome creator do. THANKSS

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